Tamper-indicating or tamper-evident packaging for food products, beverages, and the like, desirably acts to assure consumers of the purity and freshness of such products. Typically, such packaging arrangements are configured to provide clearly visually discernible evidence that a package or container has been partially or completely opened.
One such tamper-evident arrangement is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,418,828. This patent discloses a tamper-indicating plastic closure particularly suited for use with bottles or like containers. The closure of this patent has proven to be quite commercially successful, since it has been configured for highly efficient and reliable use with conventionally configured containers having a threaded neck, and an annular, flange-like locking ring.
While it is generally desirable to enhance the tamper-resistent characteristics of a container closure, such improvements must be weighed against the practicalities of consumer acceptance, economic feasibility, and mass production. The present invention is directed to an improved form of the tamper-indicating closure of the above patent, which improvement desirably enhances tamper-resistance, while facilitating high-speed manufacture and convenient consumer use.